Swiss multinational pharma Novartis has initiated a $15bn share buyback, planned to be executed by end-2023. It reflects confidence in expected 4% sales growth through to 2026 and up to 20 new significant assets set to be potentially approved by 2026.
GlaxoSmithKline and the University of Oxford have launched a major five-year collaboration to establish the Oxford-GSK Institute of Molecular and Computational Medicine. The new Institute, which will be based at the University of Oxford, aims to improve the success and speed of research and development of new medicines, building on insights from human genetics and using advanced technologies such as functional genomics and machine learning.
Following a management buyout, chemicals specialist James Robinson Speciality Ingredients has launched a dedicated new biotechnology R&D facility in Manchester. The new Biotome division will extend the company’s research capabilities and production capacity as it looks to explore more sustainable biotechnology ingredients.
Loxo Oncology, an R&D group of Eli Lilly, and Foghorn Therapeutics have announced a strategic collaboration to create novel oncology medicines by applying Foghorn’s proprietary Gene Traffic Control platform. The collaboration includes a co-development and co-commercialisation agreement for Foghorn’s selective BRM (biological response modifiers) oncology programme.
ExxonMobil and SABIC have launched their US Gulf Coast Growth Ventures manufacturing facility in San Patricio, Texas. The new facility will produce materials used in packaging, agricultural film, construction materials, clothing, and automotive coolants. The operation includes a 1.8m t/year ethane steam cracker, two polyethylene units capable of producing up to 1.3m t/year, and a monoethylene glycol unit with a capacity of 1.1m t/year.
TotalEnergies has announced that its polymer plant in Feluy, Belgium will start production of high-performance polymers with the commissioning of a new reactor in its polypropylene unit.
Cyril Ramaphosa, South Africa’s President, has launched a vaccine manufacturing facility in Cape Town. It is part of a US$200 million deal that the government of South Africa announced with health tech and life science company Nantworks in September 2021. The facility will aim to be up and running within a year and aims to produce one billion vaccines by 2025.
Johnson Matthey has signed a memorandum of understanding with European Metal Recycling to develop an efficient value chain in the UK for recycling lithium-ion batteries. Recycling batteries from end-of-life electric vehicles will produce significant quantities of strategic materials, such as lithium, nickel and cobalt, but with a fraction of the carbon footprint of the same materials from mined sources.
Specialty chemicals producer Solenis has launched the Global Diversity Scholarship as one element of a comprehensive diversity, equity and inclusion strategy. The programme will help Solenis attract and retain diverse talent, an important driver of business performance.
Shell has acquired 100% of solar development company solar-konzept Italia from solar-konzept International. The acquisition increases Shell’s solar development pipeline in Italy to approximately 2GW.
Astellas Pharma and Dyno Therapeutics have announced an option and license agreement to develop next-generation adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors for gene therapy directed to skeletal and cardiac muscle using Dyno’s CapsidMap platform. This approach uses in vivo experimental data and machine learning to create novel AAV capsids – the cell-targeting protein shells of viral vectors – designed to optimise tissue targeting and immune-evading properties.
German biotechnology company BioNTech and Cambridge, UK-based Crescendo Biologics, a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company developing novel, targeted T-cell-enhancing therapeutics, have announced a multi-target discovery collaboration to develop novel immunotherapies for the treatment of patients with cancer and other diseases.
90kt
Dow has invested in Mr. Green Africa – the first recycling company in Africa to be a Certified B Corporation – to enable diversion of plastic waste from informal dumpsites and the environment, address inadequacies in existing waste management systems and close the loop on plastics waste across Africa. Dow expects approximately 90kt of plastic waste to be recovered over four years and recycled into new packaging applications.
80-90%
Global fertiliser producer Yara and north European agricultural cooperative Lantmännen have signed a commercial agreement to bring fossil-free fertilisers to market. Produced with ammonia based on renewable energy generated in Europe, such as Norwegian hydropower, the result will be fertilisers with an 80 to 90% lower carbon footprint
€250m
Finland’s largest clean hydrogen production plant is planned for Lahti, southern Finland. Yie’s €250m plant will produce vehicle fuel and heat a large part of the city. The raw materials for the Power-to-Gas process are CO2, water and renewable electricity. The CO2 is recovered from power plant flue gases, and green hydrogen will be produced by electrolysis. The resulting green hydrogen and CO2 are combined in a methanation process into renewable methane, which goes into road use.
300,000
UK battery company Britishvolt has received an in-principle offer of government funding though the Automotive Transformation Fund (ATF) for its planned gigafactory in Blyth, Northumberland. Once complete, the factory will produce enough batteries for over 300,000 electric vehicles/year, significantly supporting the UK automotive industry’s transition to a zero-emissions future and increased production of electric vehicles.
Contract development and manufacturing organisation Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies has announced an expansion of its single-use manufacturing campus in College Station, Texas, US, through the addition of a new cGMP production facility that will double the company’s advanced therapy and vaccine manufacturing capacity in the US. This new $300m facility is expected to be operational by 2024 and will house multiple 500 and 2000L bioreactors and associated purification equipment deploying single-use technology.
Pfizer and Arena Pharmaceuticals have entered into an agreement under which Pfizer will acquire Arena, a clinical-stage company developing innovative potential therapies for the treatment of several immuno-inflammatory diseases. Pfizer will buy all the outstanding shares of Arena for a total equity value of about $6.7bn.
Jean-Yves Duclos, Canadian Minister of Health, has announced a joint investment of C$20m through the Canadian Institutes of Health Research to support new research teams across Canada. They will work to develop new approaches to preventing, treating, and caring for those living with diabetes.
Swiss chemicals and biotech company Lonza has launched its new bYlok technology platform for the discovery and design of bispecific antibodies. Bispecific antibodies show promising effectiveness with precision targeting and higher potency; in addition, multiple binding sites can help reduce the development of subsequent clinical resistance.
Danish pharma Novo Nordisk has revealed plans to invest more than DKK17bn to construct three new manufacturing facilities as well as the expansion of an existing facility at its production site in Kalundborg, Denmark. The investment will establish additional capacity across the entire global value chain from manufacturing of active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) to assembly and packaging, with the majority invested in API capacity.
New biotechnology company Altos Labs has been launched with a brief to unravel the biology of cellular rejuvenation programming. Its mission is to restore cell health and resilience, and to reverse disease, injury and the disabilities that can occur throughout life. It will initially be based in San Francisco and San Diego, US, and in Cambridge, UK, with significant collaborations in Japan. Altos launches with $3bn fully committed from investors and a board of directors and advisors that includes Nobel laureates.
Cyclyx International, a consortium-based plastic feedstock management company with a mission to increase the recycling rate of plastic from 10% to 90%, has announced that Dow has joined the Cyclyx consortium. Dow’s membership will give it access to customised takeback programmes and innovations. These include plastic waste-based circular feedstock specifications tailored to its specific product pathways, which will help Dow to advance its sustainability and circularity goals.
BASF is to build a new hexamethylene diamine (HMD) plant in Chalampé, France. The new plant is set to increase BASF’s annual HMD production capacity to 260,000t. Production is expected to start in 2024.
French specialty chemicals and advanced materials company, Arkema and the French Académie des Sciences are launching a €25,000 ‘Prize for innovation in chemistry for sustainable materials’. The prize is to reward scientific work that contributes to the development of innovative materials at the service of environmental protection and sustainability; for example, bio-sourced, recyclable, high-performance and lightweight materials for renewable energy, sustainable construction or mobility.
Swiss speciality chemicals company, Clariant has revealed plans to construct its first Chinese production facility for its Exolit OP flame-retardant products at its existing site in Daya Bay, Huizhou, Guangdong Province. Driven by the fast-growing electrical and electronic equipment industries, in particular e-mobility, 5G communications technology and transportation, there is a rapidly growing demand for Clariant’s flame retardants in China and other Asian markets.
Air Liquide and BASF are planning to develop the world’s largest cross-border carbon capture and storage (CCS) value chain. The goal is to significantly reduce CO2 emissions at the industrial cluster in the port of Antwerp. The joint project ‘Kairos@C’ has been selected for funding by the European Commission through its Innovation Fund. By eliminating 14.2m t of CO2 release over the first 10 years of operation, it will significantly contribute to the EU’s goal of becoming climate neutral by 2050.
Solvay and Trillium Renewable Chemicals are to develop the supply chain for bio-based acrylonitrile (bio-ACN], the primary raw material in the production of carbon fibre. Trillium will supply the bio-ACN, and Solvay will evaluate bio-ACN for carbon-fibre manufacturing as part of its long-term commitment to developing sustainable solutions from bio-based or recycled sources. The aim of this partnership is to produce carbon fibre for use in aerospace, automotive, energy and consumer goods.
Finnish firm Neste has successfully concluded its first series of trial runs processing liquefied waste plastic at its Porvoo refinery. Following its recent industrial-scale trials, Neste has been able to upgrade liquefied waste plastic to drop-in solutions for plastic production and develop industrial-scale capabilities to upgrade recycled feedstocks. Neste’s goal is processing more than 1m t/year of plastic waste from 2030 onwards.
Rally cars powered by agricultural waste have claimed second and fourth place in the 2022 Dakar Rally – and saved 28t of CO2 emissions in the process. The cars ran on a second-generation biofuel from UK specialist advanced fuel supplier Coryton. The fuel was produced by the catalytic transformation of bioethanol derived from agricultural waste, combined with e-fuels created using atmospheric CO2. This bespoke blend could be used as a direct replacement for unleaded petrol in almost any vehicle.
Molecular Partners, a clinical-stage biotech company developing a new class of custom-built protein drugs known as DARPin therapeutics, is collaborating with Novartis via a license agreement to develop, manufacture and commercialise DARPin-conjugated radioligand therapies (DARPin-RLTs). The collaboration will combine Molecular Partners’ ability to rapidly generate high-affinity DARPins and the RLT capabilities and expertise of Novartis.
Avon Protection received a 2021 Plastics Industry Award for the Best International Product Design for its CH15 Compact CBRN Escape Hood – an ultra-thin, single size respiratory escape device that provides 15 minutes of protection against chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats.
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